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Book Summary and Reviews of Libby Lost and Found by Stephanie Booth

Libby Lost and Found by Stephanie Booth

Libby Lost and Found

A Novel

by Stephanie Booth

  • Readers' Rating:
  • Published:
  • Oct 2024, 400 pages
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About this book

Book Summary

Libby Lost and Found is a book for people who don't know who they are without the books they love. It's about the stories we tell ourselves and the chapters of our lives we regret. Most importantly, it's about the endings we write for ourselves.

Meet Libby Weeks, author of the mega-best-selling fantasy series, The Falling Children―written as "F.T. Goldhero" to maintain her privacy. When the last manuscript is already months overdue to her publisher and rabid fans around the world are growing impatient, Libby is diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's. Already suffering from crippling anxiety, Libby's symptoms quickly accelerate. After she forgets her dog at the park one day―then almost discloses her identity to the journalist who finds him―Libby has to admit it: she needs help finishing the last book.

Desperately, she turns to eleven-year-old superfan Peanut Bixton, who knows the books even better than she does but harbors her own dark secrets. Tensions mount as Libby's dementia deepens―until both Peanut and Libby swirl into an inevitable but bone-shocking conclusion.

Please be aware that this discussion guide will contain spoilers!
1. How long would you wait for the release of a book from your favorite author? How much patience would you have?

2. Libby thinks about the things that tether her to life despite her despair: Rolf, her dog, and her book series. What are your tethers?

3. Is it important to prepare for death? Why does there seem to be a reticence to talk about death in general?

4. Do you see the characters from your favorite books in your dreams? Can you imagine them standing next to you? What would they say?

5. Why would someone want to write under a pseudonym? What are the reasons someone would want to keep their identity a secret?

6. How important are book or series endings to you? Does a bad ending ruin a good book? Does a good ending ...
Please be aware that this discussion may contain spoilers!

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What are you reading this week? (11/07/2024)
...r-year-old Ruthie who suddenly 'goes missing'] and her older brother Joe, both members of the Mi'k maq tribe in Maine. Downloaded but not yet reading Libby Lost and Found by Stephanie Booth–wildly popular author diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's and still chapters away from completing her most recent book, turns to 11year-old fan to...
-Sunny

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Reviews

Media Reviews

"[W]himsical...Booth leaves a few plot threads unresolved, such as a campaign to uncover Goldhero's identity, and hints of fantastical ties between Peanut's life and Libby's work fail to bear fruit. Still, Booth ably evokes the logic of a child's imagination in her portrayal of Peanut." —Publishers Weekly

"Step into the imagination of Stephanie Booth, who has crafted a suspenseful story-within-a-story about a best-selling author grappling with a devastating diagnosis and the curious 11-year-old superfan who helps her complete her final book. Booth's skillful narrative hand gives us exhilarating prose, unexpected turns of events, and a cast of major and minor characters who gradually leave their interior worlds to come together and reveal themselves." ―Esther Crain, author of The Gilded Age of New York

"Stephanie Booth is a major talent. Her debut is poignant, lyrical, and heartbreakingly funny." ―Dan Zevin, Thurber Prize-winning author of The Day I Turned Uncool

"When the author of a beloved fantasy series can no longer write, it raises the questions: who needs that fictional world more, the writer or the fans? And what, actually, is real? Stephanie Bloom's writing pops like fireworks as Libby's changing reality crashes into her vibrant, fantastical world. I haven't read a book this full of imagination since The Night Circus." ―Erica Bauermeister, New York Times bestselling author of No Two Persons and The Scent Keeper

"One by one, Stephanie Booth's characters are funny, complicated, endearing, and relatable, but then they come together and make magic. This is a book for those of us lucky enough to have ever really, truly fallen in love with one." —Laurie Frankel, New York Times bestselling author of This is How it Always Is

"An absolute delight!! Clever, engaging and heartfelt, Stephanie Booth has written a debut novel that packs a punch." —John Searles, New York Times bestselling author of Help for the Haunted and Her Last Affair

This information about Libby Lost and Found was first featured in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.

Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.

Reader Reviews

Write your own reviewwrite your own review

Kathleen M. (Mesa, AZ)

Quirky and Charming with a Little Bit of Angst
Libby Weeks is the author of a children's fantasy series, known as F.T. Goldhero.. Peanut Bixton, age 11, a passionate follower of these very intricate stories and lets everyone know it. Now, I'm not a fan of fantasy books but that's ok because this book is contemporary fiction about the two main characters and their desire to get the last book of the series written. The point of view is through the ever-busy minds of these two main characters. Both characters are unique and quirky in their own ways. They both have their own set of complications and anxieties to overcome. The plot is mainly about those. The finishing of the series moves the story along.

I was surprised at how much I loved this book. There was not a dull moment in the story. Nor did it ever slow down. This is Stephanie Booth's first book, and I can't wait to see what other books she has up her sleeve. Libby Lost and Found is full of imagination, problem solving, adventure and the tiniest bit or romance. I hope you fall in love with Libby. Her story will remind you of the first book you ever fell in love with as a child. It's that good. I highly recommend!

Diane Y. (Rio Rancho, NM)

Such a beautiful book
I loved this book because it is a book about books, which is a favorite theme of mine. The characters were diverse, each with their own specific issue/problem that they were facing. The way their stories diverged and came together by the end was touching and satisfying.

I was very impressed with how the author had "a story within a story" going on throughout the book. The beloved fictional children's series portrayed in this novel was detailed and its characters themselves flesh out, similar in character to the world J.K. Rowling created in her Harry Potter series.

What touched my heart about this novel was the concept of memories. I don't want to give away too much…so I will close by encouraging everyone to read this great book. You will fall in love with one of the main protagonists, Peanut, and root for her dream to come true!

Stephanie M. (Dallas, TX)

Libby Lost & Found
This was overall a good read - did it in one sitting. The premise is great - another trying to finish the last book in her series discovers she has Alzheimer's which is interfering with her ability to complete the ending. Thus, the need to find a ghost writer. The ultimate choice is a surprise and it puts Libby on a plane to meet the writer and, in a surprise twist, an adoptive family and love. Some of the writing was a bit disjointed and it felt like there was some missing content, but, then again, it could have been the author's premise of Alzheimer's. It may have been a technique to make the reader feel the effects of the disease. The book was funny at the same time sad. The author has a great and quirky imagination. The characters were well formed, if a bit out there. Again, a really, really great premise with a well developed plot. All and all, a good solid read!

Keri P. (Momence, IL)

Well written
This is a well written book along similar lines such as Ove or Brit-Marie was here. I didn't like it as well as I'd hoped but the writing kept me going all the way through. I am definitely willing to read more by this author.

Carole C. (Willow Street, PA)

Libby Lost and Found: Imagination Magnified
Many authors have, at times, suffered Writer's Block, but not in the way Libby Weeks, the creator of an outrageously successful series of children's books about the Falling children, has. Libby, only in her early forties, has been diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's. Now her rapidly failing memory is rendering her incapable of finishing the sixth and final book which will save the Falling children from the diabolical magic of The Unstopping, a villain in Libby's books --the outcome which thousands of fans await. Written under the name of F. T. Goldhero to protect shy Libby's identity, the books create more publicity with the promise of a large reward to the person who can identify F. T. Goldhero and more stress for Libby as her publishers push for the final manuscript.

Libby's need for help to finish this last book of the series leads her to seek out Pandora "Peanut" Bixton, an ardent eleven-year-old fan with problems of her own, who lives across the country in Colorado. This most unlikely duo, along with Peanut's "family" combine to take the reader on a journey of imagination, emotion, humor, and intrigue. In lesser hands, this would not have been a book of choice for me; however, Stephanie Booth delivers a funny, touching, and ultimately rewarding novel of layered stories within stories, stunning imagination, refreshing humor, and restored hope.

If you can relate to readers for whom a book can become their world, my advice is to get a copy of Libby Lost and Found and prepare to Ante Up!

Christine P. (Essex Junction, VT)

Libby Lost and Found
I'm not much of a fantasy fan, but this book sounded like fun and I thought I'd give it a try. I was not disappointed. As others have said, it was a roller coaster of a ride that included dementia, family dynamics, friendship and real life challenges. Libby, who is an author struggling with dementia, establishes a relationship with an eleven year old fan, Peanut, who helps her navigate and come to terms with her inability to write. Together they create a path forward that is full of twists and turns and keeps the reader entertained until the end. A good summer read and escape.

...10 more reader reviews

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Author Information

Stephanie Booth Author Biography

Stephanie Booth has an M.A. in English from the University of New Mexico and an MFA in Creative Writing from Emerson College. Her work has appeared in Cosmopolitan, Real Simple, O, Marie Claire, The Washington Post and Los Angeles Times. Stephanie has been a contributing editor at Teen People and an advice columnist for Teen, and she has helped with casting for MTV's award-winning documentary series, True Life. Stephanie is a content writer for Brightline, an app that provides behavioral health care for kids.

Author Interview

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